Story: Superphosphate

Nauru stripped

The Pacific island of Nauru once had large quantities
of bird droppings or guano, which is mined for phosphate.
After the First World War, the League of Nations made
Britain, Australia and New Zealand trustees over Nauru.
The British Phosphate Commission was formed in 1919, with
rights to phosphate mining there. Nauru gained
independence in 1968, but by then a large part of the
phosphate deposits had been stripped. Now 80% of the
island is a wasteland of jagged limestone pinnacles up to
15 metres high. Australia now has responsibility for
rehabilitating these areas.